Happy Birthday Karl Barth

I didn’t feel like writing a long post today, but I figure a short one is better than nothing. So, not feeling especially motivated, I perused Wikipedia’s note for May 10. I discovered that today is Karl Barth‘s birthday. So, Happy Birthday Karl!

Karl Barth is one of the top five most influential theologians of the past two centuries. When I was first exposed to Barth, all I was told about was his view of biblical inspiration (which I do not agree with). With more reading, however, I found that there are many great things in his writings. Even if we differ substantially on some points of theology, I respect the man deeply. Karl Barth was the main architect of the Barmen Declaration, which stands as the most important document produced by the German churches under Hitler. Barth was courageous, and he was unflinching in his resistance to Hitler and the heretical Deutsche Christen. For that reason, Barth remains one of my heroes.

Recently Hendrickson began publishing Barth’s Dogmatics for just over $100. This is a steal compared to the $400-$500 that these have historically cost. One day I would like to get these, but right now they would only serve to collect dust and look good beside the Complete Sermons of Martin Luther that I have never gotten around to reading.